The development of subsea oil and/or gas fields in deepwater has led to problems not met with onshore fields. One such problem is the fatigue damage experienced by the smaller inner conductors due to bending loads applied at the wellhead interface.
Fatigue damage can be reduced if the bending loads are transmitted by way of pretension directly into the conductor housing and outer conductor. To be effective, a significant pre-tension load must be developed in the conductor housing.